Vietnam & Netherlands boost aviation and agricultural cooperation

Ten Dutch aviation and airport companies will support the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and airlines, airports and service providers in Vietnam in its ambition to become a regional hub for both passenger and cargo services.

Director General of CAAV, Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh, and Royal HaskoningDHV Executive Council Member and Chairman of Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO), Mr. Craig Huntbatch, representing the Partners for International Business Program Dutch Aviation Solutions Vietnam, signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect on October 24 in Hanoi.

“The partnership will contribute to Vietnam’s ambition of becoming a regional hub for both passenger and cargo services,” said Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam, H.E. Nienke Trooster. “Where the Netherlands has Rotterdam Port and Schiphol Airport to make it the gateway to Europe, Vietnam has the potential to develop into the gateway to ASEAN.”

“For many years the Netherlands has supported Vietnam in various fields, especially in maritime and shipbuilding,” Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said. “Many officials from the Maritime Vietnam Administrationhave attended training courses in the Netherlands.”

He hopes that the Netherlands will continue to support Vietnam in the field of maritime training, especially in human resources development, management experience, and marine terminal operations.

A delegation to Vietnam is being led by the Dutch Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, Mr. Marten van den Berg. A group of Dutch companies, under the leadership of NACO, representing the Netherlands’ expertise in civil aviation research and development, education, management and operations, are participating in a program known as “Dutch Aviation Vietnam” (DAV).

The DAV Cluster, with experts from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, will organize the dedicated transfer of know-how for attracting and managing private investment for financing, developing and operating large civil airport infrastructure projects, for example the new Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai province.

The program includes a large component of capacity building for the CAAV,the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation, Vietnamese airlines, and pilot training providers.

Southeast Asia is an important region for the development of aviation due to the growth in travel, according to NACO Chairman Mr. Craig Huntbatch.

“Vietnam is of particular importance, because of its high GDP growth and its recent signing of trade agreements with the EU and the US,” he said. “This will accelerate the flow of travel and tourism, which means that airport infrastructure will need to be adapted to meet demand.”

The delegation also includes enterprises in the fields of agriculture and food in the Netherlands. According to Mr. Michiel van Erkel, Director of the International Agribusiness Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherlands will bring more value to the supply of food to Vietnam. “As the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world, the favorable investment cooperation with the Netherlands will help add value to Vietnam’s agricultural exports,” he said.

Deputy Minister van den Berg visited Hanoi on October 24 and will head to Ho Chi Minh City on October 25.

The business delegation includes representatives from 34 Dutch companies (ten of which are agricultural and agri-food companies) and knowledge institutions exploring further business opportunities in Vietnam in aviation, agri-food, renewable energy and maritime infrastructure. Among them are not only large renowned companies such as Ekro and Vion but also many medium-sized companies that see Vietnam as a market of potential.